7 Effortless Ways to Save Energy in Your Garage
While some might think of a garage as simply another room where you park your car and use as storage, it’s still part of your home and could be the cause of a higher energy bill. Helping make your garage more energy efficient will in turn lead to higher energy savings for your home.
Find out how to keep your garage energy efficient while saving money with our simple tips.
Insulating the Walls of your Garage and Garage Door
By insulating your garage and garage doors you can help keep the use of your HVAC down during the cold months. Garage doors tend to have several openings from which cold air can go through, causing the HVAC system to kick in more frequently than usual.
Turn Down the Temperature on Your Water Heater
Turning down the temperature of your water heater to 120° F helps keep the water comfortably warm while reducing on unneeded energy waste. Lowering down the heat while on vacation also results in lower energy consumption.
Other tips for your water heater include purchasing a unit with a high Energy Factor (EF) rating that is more energy efficient, and routinely draining a bucket of water to help remove sediment that could cause issues.
Do Not Overload Your Washer / Dryer
Using warm or cold water instead of hot water to wash your clothes helps save energy up to $50 per year. Consider also investing in a front-loading washing machine, which use less water on average than traditional models.
When using the dryer, make sure to add a dry towel to help reduce the drying time. Keep yourself from running an additional cycle by not overloading your washer and dryer, which will cause your clothes to not be cleaned properly, and take significantly longer to dry. Cleaning the lint screen after every load helps keep the exhaust clean while reducing drying time and energy usage.
Have A Professional Install Your Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
With the rise of energy efficient electric cars comes the need to keep a steady supply of fuel at home. Electric vehicle charging stations are a good choice, but oftentimes a faulty installation could lead to more serious problems down the line if installed incorrectly.
Having a professional and qualified electrician install EV chargers helps ensure that the correct voltage is being used and that the amperage will work best for your needs. They will also help you choose the correct model so that the installation location fits the length of the charging cable.
Unplug Your Power Tools
Garages are the perfect place for a handyman’s work station or home office and as a result, many might have power tools and various other electronics connected at all times.
As we mentioned in our energy guide for the living room, vampire appliances could result in wasted energy and time on standby mode. So if you’re using power tools or any other electronics, make sure to unplug them after use to help keep the costs down.
Replace Light Bulbs with LED Lighting
Light bulbs usually consume more electricity than an LED so replacing them is a wise choice. LEDs not only help reduce your carbon footprint, but they also need to be replaced less frequently and consume less energy making them a perfect energy efficient option.
Often times, the lights will be left on as you forget and move to other rooms in your home so consider investing in a light timer which can automatically turn the light off after a set amount of time.
Get Rid of Old Appliances
While having a spare refrigerator or freezer in your garage might be a good idea for keeping spare food safe, it’s often wiser to get rid of it or replace it with a more energy efficient model.
If you’re not ready to get rid of the appliance, at least unplug it to help keep unneeded energy from being wasted.
